Catheter assembly



United States Patent [72] Inventors John P. Hall Niles; Richard B. Farb, Chicago, Ill. [21] App1.No. 689,099 [22] Filed Dec. 8, 1967 [45] Patented Dec. 15, 1970 [73] Assignee Baxter Laboratories, Inc.

Morton Grove, Ill. a corporation of Delaware [54] CATHETER ASSEMBLY 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 128/214.4, 128/348 [51] Int. Cl A61m 5/00 [50] Field oiSearch 128/2l4.4, 221, 215, 347-351 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,120,549 12/1914 Schellberg 128/349 2,898,917 8/1959 Wallace 128/350 l I I/IIIIIIII /l ll/I IIII. 'IIIIIIIIII/I/I IIIIIIIIII/I 2,937,643 5/1960 Elliot l28/2l4.4 3,185,151 5/1965 Czorny..... l28/2l4.4 3,313,299 4/1967 Spademan 128/2 14.4 3,314,427 4/1967 Stafford 128/2l4.4 3,444,860 5/1969 Harrell 128/349 3,459,184 8/1969 Ring l28/2l4.4 3,459,188 8/1969 Roberts 128/347 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,064,445 12/1953 France l28/2l4.4 OTHER REFERENCES Lancet- Sept. l4,1963,pg.557 128/349 Primary ExaminerDalton L. Truluck Attorneys-Robert G. Pollock and Richard .1. Reilly ABSTRACT: The distal portion of a collapsible housing is secured to a catheter comprising said assembly to provide an enclosure from which said tubular member can be projected into a body opening through an aperture in the body. An apertured connector is carried from the proximal portion of said housing for securance to the body about the body aperture for passing the catheter directly from the housing into the body opening.

PATENTED nun 5 I910 It II ll Inventor John R Hall Richard B. Farb Byfiz zazzzrffeily Attorney CATHETER ASSEMBLY The present invention relates to catheters. Particularly the inventionrelates' to an assembly for passing fluids into and out of a body cavity through a catheter while minimizing exposure thereof to airborne contaminants.

A catheter, such as the type used for peritoneal dialysis, is part of an assembly which conventionally may include a stylet mounted in the lumen of the catheter for relative axial displacement. The stylet is adapted initially to incise abody wall to generate an opening through which the catheter maybe projected into the peritoneal cavity. Prior to the present invention, the noninserted section of a catheter would be exposed to the air. Consequently, upon subsequent insertion of previously exposed catheter parts contaminating organisms might be introduced into the peritoneal cavity.

It is the object of the present invention to provide anew catheter assembly. 7 j

It is a further .object of the invention to reduce the risk of catheter contamination from the risk level prevailing prior to this invention.

The foregoing objects are achieved by providing a housing in an assembly for passage of'a liquid relative a'body opening through a body aperture. A catheter with a distal end section has a proximal end section arranged for projection from said housing for insertion through said body aperture into 'thebody opening. The catheter is also arranged for movement between a first condition in which said distal section is wholly disposed in said housing and a second condition in which a-portion of said distal section projects from said housing for insertion'into said body opening through said body aperture. Also provided are first connecting means securing said housing to said distal section for adjusting said catheter between said first and second condition.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent .upon consideration of the following description and appended claims when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein the same reference character or numeral refers to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views.

On the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective of an assembly embodying one form of the invention and including a housing and acatheter having distal end section disposed in said housing.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, however showing the catheter conditioned so that parts of the distal end section project from said housing and parts broken away for the purpose of illustration.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of said-assembly but on a larger scale than the scale FIG. 1, with parts broken out to conserve drawing area.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, an assembly generally designated comprises a catheter 12 of conventional fabrication and which may, but need not be, adapted for peritoneal dialysis. Catheter 12 has a proximal end section 14 and a distal end section 16, proximal end section 14 being shown having a plurality of axially spaced apertures 18 (only some of which have been numbered in FIGS. 1 and 3) to facilitate fluid passage to and from the lumen 20 of catheter 12 out of and into a body cavity (not shown). Moreover, said proximal end section may be tapered as at 22 to facilitate catheter penetration into a body cavity through an aperture in a body wall (not shown) made by the incising end 24 of a stylet 26 which is normally slidably disposed for removal in lumen 20. Stylet 26 may be of conventional fabrication for rigid construction and is adapted for incising projection outwardly from the catheter end section 14.

In the present embodiment a plastic valve housing 28 is frictionally secured to the outermost part of distal end section 16 through the medium of a catheter hub 30 which is carried on distal end section 16 and plugs inner end 32 of said valve housing. The arrangement is such that when stylet 26 is removed from lumen 20, valve chamber 34 is in fluid communication with said lumen.

Not critical to the invention are a .pair of self-sealing valves 36 and 38 (herein shown as Foley valves) which are anchored in extensions 40 and 42, respectively, of valve housing 28. Extension 40 is aligned with catheter lumen 20 so that outer portion 44 of stylet 26 may project through valve 36 in a manner such that by gripping handle 48, stylet 26 may be manually withdrawn from and inserted into lumen 20.

A longitudinally collapsible housing 50 which may be fabricated from polyethylene is disposed about distal end section 16 of said catheter for barring entry into its chamber 51 of contaminants from the air. Proximal end section 14 of said catheter, however, normally extends outwardly from the inner end portion .56 of said housing. Housing 50 has an outer reduced end portion 52 which is anchored on the inner end 32 of-valve housing 28'by means of a shrunkenmodified polyvinylchloride plastic collar54 whereby housing end portion 52 is arranged for: axial movement with catheter 12. Accordingly,

when inner end portion 56 is anchored in a relatively fixed position, parts of distal end section 16 may be projected from chamber 51 to elongate the partof catheter 12 outside housing 50, by collapsing said housing to a condition, for example, shown'in FIG. 3. The means for extending distal end section 16 from within housing 50 upon its collapse includes collar 54 as well as hub 30.

Connecting means for securing inner end. portion 56 of housing 50 to apatient (not shown) and, accordingly, a relatively fixed position with respect to outer end portion 52 comprisesa disc 58 disposed adjacent said housing and from which catheter 12 projects for entry into bodycavity of such patient. Disc 58 may be of vinyl fabrication with a tacky Mylar polyester facing -60 adapted to secure disc 58 to the body surface of a patient. Said'disc is apertured asat 62 for-extension and withdrawal of distal catheter portion 16 into .and'out of housing 50 and, accordingly, elongation and shortening of the part of catheter 12 which projects away from disc 58.

An apertured member 64 in the form of a hub for disc 58. and preferably integrally fashioned therewith defines and axially disposed passage 66 in which catheter 12 is arranged in bearing relationship for axial movement. Member 64 projects from disc 58 into housing 50 through an inner end'opening defined by inner end portion 56 of said housing. Said inner end portion is secured to member 64 and accordingly to disc 7 58 by shrinkable modified polyvinylchloride collar 68 which may be of a fabrication similar to the collar 54 and is shrunken to impinge said inner end portion on member 64.

The manner in which assembly 10 operates is as follows: with housing 50 distended as in FIGS. 1 and 3, an incision is made in the body wall of a patient with stylet 12 to provide an aperture for passing the inner end section 14 catheter 12 into a body opening such as the peritoneal cavity. While housing 50in its extended condition FIGS. 1 and 3), assembly 10 is advanced to insert proximal end section 14in the body cavity or opening and engage disc 58 to the body-surface, with its aperture 62 in registration with the incision in the body wall. Thereafter, tacky facing 60 is pressed into securance with the body wall and stylet 26 removed.

The foregoing arrangement enables catheter 12 to be moved between a first condition in which distal end section 16 is disposed within housing 50 and a second condition in which said distal end section is projected from said housing by moving the outer end portion 52 of said housing to the right from its position of FIG. 3 toward the position of FIG. 2. This feature of course permits adjusting the length of the catheter 7 while is disposed within the body cavity. Moreover, other adjustments in catheter extension in the body of a patient may be made from time to time by, for example, partially extending housing 50; and at no time after initial securance of the assembly to the patients body will the catheter be exposed to the air. Thereby, catheter contamination from that source is prevented.

As many substitutions or changes could be made in the above described construction and as many apparently widely different embodiments of the invention within the scope of the claims could be constructed without the departing from the scope and spirit thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as being illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. An assembly for inserting a catheter into a living body while preventing airborne contamination thereof, which comprises: a housing for enclosing a major portion of said catheter in excluded relation from the exterior, said housing having a first aperture in one end thereof of size sufficient to pass said catheter, a catheter attached at one location within said housing and disposed in generally axial relation thereto, said attached catheter having an open bore for fluid communication therethrough, the housing having a flexible tubular portion, which portion is longitudinally expansible and contractible to enclose a major portion of said catheter in expanded position and to expel a portion of the said catheter through said aperture by moving into contracted position, a second aperture in the other end of said housing, puncturing means consisting of a removable stylet having a sharpened point passing longitudinally through said housing apertures and said catheter bore to assist in the insertion of the catheter into said body and an by a pair of bands impinging the ends of said tubular portion 4. The assembly of claim 3 having a third aperture located adjacent said second aperture for connection to said assembly while the stylet is in said catheter bore. I

5. The assembly of claim 3 in which said'catheter has a tapered end for ease of insertion.

6. The assembly of claim 3 in which said housing comprises a distal valve housing and a proximal member connected respectively to opposite ends of said flexible tubular portion about said distal valve housing and proximal member respectively, said proximal member defining the'first aperture and said distal valve housing defining the second aperture. 

